Berkshire Hathaway dumps 5.5 million HP shares, and it may not be done selling

By Emily Bary

Warren Buffett's Berkshire continues to own 115.5 million HP shares but one analyst wonders if the company will wait until the October analyst day to sell more

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. dumped 5.5 million shares of HP Inc. earlier this week, according to a recent filing.

Berkshire (BRKA)(BRKA) unloaded just under 939,000 HP shares (HPQ) Monday at an average price of $29.59, sold 1.7 million shares Tuesday at an average price of $29.07 and dumped 2.9 million shares Wednesday at an average price of $28.40, according to disclosures made in a late-Wednesday Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The value of the sales was about $158 million.

Following the sales, Berkshire continued to own 115.5 million HP shares, which were worth nearly $3.3 billion based on Wednesday's closing price of $28.33. Berkshire's current holdings amount to about 11.7% of HP's shares outstanding.

HP's stock was off 1.9% in premarket trading Thursday.

Berkshire disclosed in April 2022 that it had taken a large stake in HP amounting to 120.95 million shares. Those were worth $4.2 billion at the time, and Berkshire purchased them at prices between $34 and $37.

The recent move to sell shares "follows a more challenged quarter," noted Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani. HP last month cut its full-year earnings and free-cash-flow expectations "driven by macro softness and continued channel inventory overhang," he wrote.

See more:HP's stock tumbles after mixed results, cautious outlook

The PC market has been sluggish lately after seeing a renaissance during the pandemic.

"Investors will be interested to see if Berkshire Hathaway continues to reduce its ownership in the coming days and weeks," Daryanani added. "We wonder if Buffett will wait until the upcoming analyst day to make any additional ownership changes."

The analyst day takes place Oct. 10.

-Emily Bary

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09-14-23 0817ET

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